Sport

Kelly on the mend

By NODLEY WRIGHT, Freelance Writer

Keith Kelly - file

ARNETT GARDENS AND Jamaica midfielder Keith Kelly is on the mend following recent surgery to repair a damaged right knee.

The 22-year-old underwent surgery last Tuesday and should know today how long it will be before he is able to return to the field of play. This surgery should lengthen his absence from the Arnett Gardens squad.

Kelly, who injured his knee last October in a game for Arnett Gardens against Constant Spring said he tried to put off the surgery as long as possible but had no option but to do it at this time.

"The surgery should have been done from last year. I decided to play on and then do it after but it did not work out," Kelly told The Star.

"I rested it for about two weeks and underwent physiotherapy and then I went back playing. Some of the times it felt all right but most of that time though I was playing with pain. Even when I went to the Digicel Caribbean Cup in Barbados, I went against the doctor's advice. Dr Christopher Rose who performed the surgery told me not to play but I did," continued Kelly. His decision to play he said was based on the fact that "My country wanted me and I could not say no and it was also an opportunity to be part of a championship team and I took it".

Kelly, a key figure in Jamaica's historic qualifications for the Under-17 World Cup in 1999 and the Under-20 World Championship two years later, is keen to return to his best form which saw him earn an apprenticeship at top French club Paris Saint-Germain.

The injury he said prevented him from playing up to his true potential and that football followers, who were not in the know gave him a lot of hell.

That, he said, should soon be behind him once he gets back on his feet. His target now he said is to get back into action in this the third round of the Wray and Nephew National Premier League and help his club Arnett Gardens get to the semi-finals of the competition to stake a claim for a spot in the Gold Cup squad.

"Mentally I am all right. I am looking forward to coming back for my country and my club. I want to be a part of my club's push to take the National Premier League title.

"I do believe that I should be back in action before the third round ends. People who have done this kind of surgery before such as Gregory Messam, explained what it would be like and I think I will be fit again before the end of this round and the Gold Cup," explained the talented midfielder.